The Vatican Information Service is a news service, founded in the Holy See Press Office, that provides information about the Magisterium and the pastoral activities of the Holy Father and the Roman Curia...[+]

Vatican City, 2014 (VIS) – “Our
meeting is marked by the suffering we share on account of the wars
that beset various regions of the Middle East and in particular for
the violence suffered by Christians and members of other religious
minorities, especially in Iraq and Syria”, said Pope Francis this
morning, as he received in audience His Holiness Mar Dinka IV,
Catholicos Patriarch of the Assyrian Church of the East. “When we
think of their suffering, it is natural to overcome the distinctions
of rite or confession; in them there is the body of Christ that,
still today, is injured, beaten and humiliated. There are no
religious, political or economic factors that can justify what is
happening to hundreds of thousands of innocent men, women, and
children. We are deeply united in our prayers for intercession and in
charity towards these suffering members of the body of Christ”.

“Your visit is another step along the
path of an increasing closeness and spiritual communion between us,
after the bitter misunderstandings of previous centuries”,
continued the bishop of Rome. Twenty years ago, the joint
Christological declaration you signed along with my predecessor, the
Pope St. John Paul II, was a milestone in our path to full communion.
In this declaration we acknowledged that we confess the sole faith of
the apostles, faith in the divinity and humanity of Our Lord Jesus
Christ, united in a single person, without confusion or alteration,
without division or separation.

Finally, the Pope referred to the work
of the Joint Commission for Theological Dialogue between the Catholic
Church and the Assyrian Church of the East, which he accompanies with
prayer “so that the blessed day may come in which we are able to
celebrate at the same altar the sacrifice of praise, that will make
us one in Christ. … What unites us is far greater than what
divides, and for this reason we feel urged by the Spirit to share
from now the spiritual treasures of our ecclesial traditions, to
live, like true brothers, sharing the gifts that the Lord does not
cease to give to our Churches, as a sign of His goodness and mercy”.

Vatican City, 2014 (VIS) – The
implementation of catechetical methods for inculturation, the defence
of the family and the role of women, and the need for dialogue with
other religions in a country where Catholics are a minority are the
main themes of the discourse Pope Francis handed to the bishops of
Chad this morning, at the end of their “ad Limina” visit. The
Holy Father writes that the Catholic communities in this country “are
growing, not only numerically, but also in terms of quality and the
strength of their efforts”, and expressed his satisfaction for the
work carried out in the spheres of education, health and development.

“The civil authorities are very
grateful to the Catholic Church for her contribution to society as a
whole in Chad. I encourage you to persevere along this path, as there
is a strong bond between evangelisation and human development, a bond
that must be expressed and developed in all the work of
evangelisation. Service to the poor and the most disadvantaged
constitutes a true testimony of Christ, Who made Himself poor in
order to be close to us and to save us. Both the religious
congregations and lay associations who work with them play an
important role in this respect, and they are to be thanked for this”.

“However”, he observes, “it is
certain that this commitment to social service does not constitute
the entirety of evangelizing activity; the deepening and
strengthening of faith in the hearts of the faithful, that translates
into an authentic spiritual and sacramental life, are essential to
enable them to withstand the many trials of contemporary life, and to
ensure that the behaviour of the faithful is more coherent with the
requirements of the Gospel. … This is especially necessary in a
country where certain cultural traditions bear considerable weight,
where less morally demanding religious possibilities are present
everywhere, and where secularism begins to make headway”.

Therefore, “it is necessary for the
faithful to receive a solid doctrinal and spiritual formation. And
the first locus of formation is certainly catechesis. I invite you,
with a renewed missionary spirit, to implement the catechetical
methods used in your dioceses. First, the good aspects of their
traditions must be considered and accorded their due value –
because Christ did not come to destroy cultures, but rather to lead
them to fulfilment – while that which is not Christian must be
clearly denounced. At the same time, it is essential to ensure the
accuracy and integrity of doctrinal content”.

The Pope goes on to refer to families,
who are “the vital cell of society and the Church, and who are
currently very vulnerable. … And within the family, it is important
that the role and the dignity of the woman are recognised, to bear
eloquent witness to the Gospel. Therefore, in this respect,
“behaviour within the Church must be a model for the whole of
society”.

After reiterating the need for the
permanent formation of the clergy and the closeness of bishops and
priests, Pope Francis observes that the Church in Chad, “despite
her vitality and development, is a minority in a population in which
there is a Muslim majority and which is still partly bound to its
traditional religions”, and encouraged the prelates to ensure “that
the Church, which is respected and listened to, occupies the space
justly accorded to her in society in Chad, in which a significant
element has converted, even though this remains a minority”. He
continues, “in this context, I must urge you to foster
interreligious dialogue, which was fortunately initiated by the late
Archbishop of N'Djamena, Mathias M'Garteri Mayadi, who did much to
promote the co-existence of different religious communities. I
believe that it is necessary to continue with this type of initiative
to prevent the violence to which Christians have fallen victim in
neighbouring countries”.

The Holy Father concluded by
reiterating the importance of maintaining the good relations
established with the civil authorities, and highlighted the recent
signing of a Framework Agreement between the Holy See and the
Republic of Chad that, once ratified, will greatly help the mission
of the Church.

Vatican City, 2014 (VIS) – This
morning the Holy Father received in audience the participants in the
plenary assembly of the Pontifical Council “Justice and Peace”: a
meeting that coincides with the fifth anniversary of the publication
of Benedict VI's encyclical “Caritas in veritate”. Pope Francis
described it as “a fundamental document for the evangelisation of
the social sphere, which offers valuable guidance for the presence of
Catholics in society, in the institutions, in the economy, in finance
and in politics”, which “has drawn attention to both the benefits
and the dangers of globalisation, when the latter is not guided
towards the good of the people. While globalisation has increased
aggregate wealth and that of a number of individual States, it has
also caused division between various social groups, creating
inequality and new forms of poverty in within those same countries
that are considered to be among the richest”.

The Pope remarked that one of the
aspects of the current economic system is the exploitation of
international imbalances in the costs of labour, which affects
millions of people who live on less than two dollars a day. This
imbalance not only fails to respect the dignity of those who provide
low cost labour, but also removes sources of work from those areas
where it is most protected. “This poses the problem of creating
mechanisms for protecting working rights, as well as the environment,
in the presence of an increasingly consumerist ideology, that does
not demonstrate responsibility with regard to cities and to creation.
Rising inequality and poverty put participatory and inclusive
democracy at risk; the latter always presupposes an economy and a
market that are fair and do not exclude. This therefore means that
the structural causes of inequality and poverty must be dealt with”.
Frances remarked that in his apostolic exhortation “Evangelii
gaudium” he indicated three basic instruments for the social
inclusion of the those most in need: education, access to healthcare,
and work for all.

“In other words”, he explained,
“the State of social rights must not be dismantled, and in
particular the right to work must be protected. This must not be
considered a variable, dependent upon financial and monetary markets.
It is a fundamental right for dignity, for the formation of a family,
for the realisation of the common good and for peace. Education and
work and access to welfare for all are key elements both for
development and for the just distribution of goods, for achieving
social justice and for belonging to society, and for participating
freely and responsibly in political life, understood as the
management of the “res publica”. Ideas that claim to increase
income at the cost of restricting the job market and creating further
exclusion are not coherent with an economy at the service of man and
the common good, or with an inclusive and participatory democracy”.

Further problems arise from the
“lasting imbalances between economic sectors, remuneration,
commercial banks and banks engaged in speculation, between
institutions and global problems: it is necessary to remain vigilant
about poverty and social justice. This requires, on the one hand,
radical reforms that provide for the redistribution of the wealth
produced, and the universalisation of free markets in the service of
families, and on the other, a redistribution of sovereignty, at both
national and supranational levels”.

Returning to the encyclical “Caritas
in veritate”, the Pope noted that this document emphasised the bond
between the environmental and human ecology, and affirmed the current
relevance of its principles. “A love full of truth is in fact the
foundation on which we must build the peace that is particularly
hoped for and necessary for the good of all today. It enables us to
overcome dangerous fanaticism, conflicts over the possession of
resources, migration of biblical dimensions, the lasting wounds of
hunger and poverty, human trafficking, social and economic injustice
and disparity, and imbalance in terms of access to collective goods”.
He concluded, “the Church is always on the move, in the search of
new ways to proclaim the Gospel, also in the social sphere”.

Vatican City, 2014 (VIS) – Yesterday
afternoon the Holy Father received a delegation of Eritrean survivors
and relatives of the victims of the shipwreck that occurred a year
ago in the waters of Lampedusa, Sicily, in which 368 migrants lost
their lives. The delegation was composed of 37 people – more than
20 survivors and some relatives – from the various European
countries where they have settled, often with family members who were
already present there. These countries include Germany, Sweden,
Norway, the Netherlands and Denmark. Other survivors are due to
arrive tomorrow, to join the delegation to participate in the
commemoration of the tragedy in Lampedusa tomorrow. A few days ago a
proposal was put forward to the Italian parliament that 3 October be
declared a “Day of Remembrance for Victims of the Sea”.

The delegation was organised by the “3
October Committee”, chaired by Tareke Brhane, and was accompanied
by Archbishop Konrad Krajewski, almoner of His Holiness, and Fr.
Giovanni Lamanna, former president of the Astalli Centre, the Italian
home of the Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS), an international Catholic
organisation active in more than forty countries, whose mission is to
accompany and assist refugees and asylum-seekers, and to defend their
rights.

During the meeting, which took place in
a room adjacent to the Vatican's Paul VI Hall, one of the refugees
addressed the Pope, asking for his help and support in work that
remains to be done, for instance in identifying the bodies, that in
some cases has not yet been possible. Another young person thanked
the Pope for his support for and interest in the welfare of migrants
and refugees.

The Pope, moved by these testimonies,
said, “I cannot find the words to say what I feel. What you have
suffered is to be contemplated in silence; one weeps, and seeks a way
of being close to you. At times, when you seem to have arrived in the
port, we encounter very difficult situations. You find closed doors
and do not know where to go. But there are many people whose hearts
are open to you. The door of the heart is the most important in these
moments. I implore all men and women in Europe to open the doors of
their hearts! I want to say that I am close to you, I pray for you, I
pray that the closed doors open up”.

The delegation presented the Holy
Father with a sculpture in iron, depicting a bottle in the sea,
containing a family. At the end of the encounter, the Pope personally
greeted all those present.

Vatican City, 2014 (VIS) – The papal
representatives in the Middle East are meeting in the Vatican from 2
to 4 October, at the Holy Father's behest, to discuss the presence of
Christians in the region, due to the grave situation that has
prevailed in recent months. The meeting began this morning at the
Secretariat of State and was attended by the Superiors of the
Secretariat of State and the Roman Curia directly linked with the
issue, as well as the Holy See Permanent Observers at the United
Nations in New York and Geneva, and the apostolic nuncio to the
European Union.

The meeting demonstrates the Holy
Father's closeness and interest in this important question. He opened
the meeting, thanking the participants convened to pray and reflect
together on what to do to approach the dramatic situation experienced
by Christians in the Middle East, along with other religious and
ethnic minorities who suffer as a result of the violence that
continues to rage throughout the region. With heartfelt words the
Holy Father demonstrated his concern regarding the situations of
conflict currently in progress in many areas, and for the phenomenon
of terrorism, which holds human lives to have no value. The Pontiff
also mentioned the problem of arms trafficking that is the basis of
many problems, as well as the humanitarian drama experienced by many
people forced to leave their countries. In emphasising the importance
of prayer, the Holy Father expressed his hope that multi-level
initiatives and actions may be identified in order to manifest the
solidarity of all the Church towards the Christians of the Middle
East and also to involve the international community and all men and
women of good will, to respond to the needs of the very many people
who suffer in the region.

Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro
Parolin illustrated the importance and aim of the meeting. Cardinal
Sandri, prefect of the Congregation for the Oriental Churches,
offered a complete report on the situation experienced by Christians
in the Middle East, presenting different aspects of the question and
opening up dialogue with the participants. The papal representatives
in Syria and Iraq then went on to provide information on the
conditions of Christians in their respective countries, and finally,
Cardinal Robert Sarah, president of the Pontifical Council “Cor
Unum”, spoke on the role of the Church in facing the humanitarian
crisis in the Middle East.

This afternoon, Cardinal Jean-Louis
Tauran, president of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious
Dialogue, will speak on religious dialogue with Islam, and the
challenges faced by Christians in the Middle East. This will be
followed by a presentation by Cardinal Fernando Filoni, prefect of
the Congregation for the Evangelisation of Peoples, on his recent
visit to Iraq as the Holy Father's special envoy. After the debate,
the session will close with Vespers.